Owner: Matt Thompson
Shop: Wheeler Machinery
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Matt Thompson's toolbox order wasn't too big of an order to fill for Mac Tools distributor JD Whittington, but it was too big to fit on his tool truck.
The 11’ 6” long, 6' tall Macsimizer Series toolbox with hutch and two side lockers had to be brought into Wheeler Machinery in Salt Lake City, Utah, on a tow truck.
"He was scared to even drive it," Whittington said of the driver bringing in Thompson's box. "He was going like five miles per hour down the road. He asked, 'How much is this box?" I told him, '24 or 25 grand.'"
All 17 drawers of the matching orange setup are stocked with mostly Mac Tools products, and are organized by tool category for the most part. While Thompson keeps tool sets in their plastic and blow molded cases, other drawers have tools laid out. A big plus for him, besides the color and the size, is the work space in the hutch.
Thompson also works out of a matching tool cart which holds his most used tools and socket sets.
"They [other technicians at Wheeler Machinery, which services Caterpillar construction and heavy equipment] say my cart isn't even a cart, it's a mini toolbox," Thompson says.
The cart is on casters and has a flip-open top, three drawers and a bottom shelf for parts and other miscellaneous products.
Thompson customized his setup by building in a LED lighting system. Now, the hutch has two remote-controlled light strips that can pulses and dim, and the side cabinets feature lights wired to an on/off switch.
Thompson's almost 12’ long setup takes up quite a bit of floor space, but he still wants to go bigger by adding a top locker. That is, once it gets cleared with management.
“It was the biggest box in my shop and it will forever be the biggest box in the shop,” Thompson says. “After they saw my box they put a size limit on toolboxes in my shop. That is the other reason I have not added to it yet. One day I will.”
